REU Site: Summer Research in Physics at the University of Arkansas

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NON-TECHNICAL PART: Physics REU (research experience for undergraduates) at the University of Arkansas will be focused on experimental and theoretical projects in nano-materials and condensed matter, soft matter and biophysics, photonics, lasers and quantum optics. It builds upon the department's educational environment, which is highly supportive of undergraduate research as evidenced by the success of its majors in nationally competitive research-based awards and highly ranked graduate programs. REU participants, selected from diverse groups including women and minorities, will experience some of the basic concepts central to undergraduate physics education come alive, discover their own creativity, and acquire skills and practices essential to scientific problem solving. They will also participate in a variety of professional development activities, including: weekly lectures and seminars, training on library usage, communications and scientific writing skills, a one-hour scientific ethics course, and social/cultural activities with other REU groups and the Carver program for minorities at the University. These will help them improve their communication skills, develop skills for working in a collaborative environment, and recognize the value of different points of view.TECHNICAL PART: REU participants will work on carefully chosen research projects on topics of current interest such as properties of nano-materials, STM of twisted bilayer graphene, solid-state nano-pore fabrication for detection of DNA, light driven photon pumps, light-matter interaction, plasmonic nanostructures, lasers and quantum optics, and statistical and nonlinear physics of extremophiles and the brain. The department has strong research activities in each of these areas and infrastructure to support graduate and undergraduate research and education. Through engagement with their research projects for ten weeks, the participants will leave having experienced the creative process involved in scientific research starting from the formulation of a problem to its solution, the ups and downs, and the eventual thrill of a new discovery. This experience will ignite a spark of creativity and enthusiasm for pursuing graduate education and/or careers in science and technology.